12
July 2024
Molten
Ventures plc
("Molten
Ventures", “Molten”, “the "Group" or the "Company")
Exit and
Investment Update
Step-up in
realisations coming through, above holding value
Molten Ventures (LSE: GROW,
Euronext Dublin: GRW), a leading venture capital firm investing in
and developing high-growth digital technology businesses, today
provides an update on recent developments in its
portfolio.
Key highlights are:
-
Exit from Graphcore via its
acquisition by SoftBank
-
Acquisition of Perkbox by Great
Hill Partners now closed
-
The acquisition of Endomagnetics
(‘Endomag’) by Hologic, Inc continuing through the closing
processes
-
All three exits reinforce the
rigour of the Molten valuation process, underpinning Molten’s net
asset value (‘NAV’)
-
Isar Aerospace closes £220m Series
C round
-
RavenPack raises $20m to launch new
AI platform Bigdata.com
Exits
GRAPHCORE
As announced by Graphcore earlier
today, the company has been acquired by SoftBank. Molten has
realised a total return of $26m, in line with its Group holding
value. Molten first invested in Graphcore in 2016 as part of the
company’s Series A and further supported the business in subsequent
funding rounds. At a 0.9x multiple on invested capital, the
majority of the cost has been returned which demonstrates the
benefit of downside protection with preference shares.
Graphcore is a machine intelligence
semiconductor company, which develops Intelligent Processing Units
(‘IPUs’) that enable world-leading levels of AI computing.
Graphcore will continue to operate under the Graphcore name, as a
wholly-owned subsidiary of SoftBank, with its head office remaining
in Bristol and offices in Cambridge, London, Gdansk and
Hsinchu.
PERKBOX
Further to the announcement of 18
March, the acquisition of Perkbox, a British-based employee
benefits and reward platform, by Great Hill Partners, a US-based
private equity firm, has closed. The award-winning platform has
been a portfolio company since Molten first invested in 2016.
Further capital was invested to support the growth of Perkbox from
2017 to 2019. Cash proceeds of approximately £18m, will be received
in circa 60 days once released from escrow. This is above the
Molten holding value of £16.3m and delivers a 1.3x multiple on
invested capital.
ENDOMAG
Further to the announcement of 30
April in respect of the acquisition of medical technology company
Endomag by global leader in women’s health Hologic, Inc, the
regulatory review, working
capital and other customary closing adjustments remain on track. As
previously announced and subject to minor adjustments, this deal
also values Molten's stake in Endomag modestly above its Group
holding value of £34.7 million. At the current holding value this
would deliver a 3.7x multiple on invested capital.
The three realisations provide a
cross section of the portfolio returns and add to the over £520m of
realisations by the Company since 2016.
In accordance with the capital
allocation policy outlined in the Company’s final results on 12
June, a further update will be provided on the allocation of a
minimum of 10% of the proceeds from the above realisations to share
buybacks, once the funds have been received by the
Company.
Core Portfolio
Investments
ISAR
AEROSPACE
In June, core portfolio company
ISAR Aerospace announced the closing of its Series C round raising
£220m. ISAR Aerospace is a German launch service provider for small
and medium-sized satellites. The funds will be used to build a
bigger, fully automated factory near Munich to produce at least 40
of its Spectrum rockets a year by the end of the decade.
RAVENPACK
In July, Core Portfolio company
RavenPack, a leading big data analytics provider for hedge funds
and banks, has raised $20m from technology advisory and investment
firm GP Bullhound as the company aims to accelerate the development
and launch of RavenPack’s new AI platform, Bigdata.com, enhancing
decision-making for leading financial professionals.
Martin Davis,
Chief Executive Officer, Molten Ventures,
commented:
“As we
anticipated at the time of our recent trading update and final
results, we are seeing a step-up in realisations, most recently
with our exit from Graphcore and the previously announced Perkbox
and Endomag transactions. These realisations and the fact that Core
Portfolio companies ISAR Aerospace and Ravenpack are attracting
investment, even in an environment which is still challenging for
fundraising, all demonstrate the high quality of our portfolio.
More importantly, the valuation of recent exits underscores the
rigour of our valuation methodology and should give further
confidence to investors in our net asset value.”
-ENDS-
Enquiries:
Molten Ventures
plc
Martin Davis (Chief Executive
Officer)
Ben Wilkinson (Chief Financial
Officer)
|
+44 (0)20 7931 8800
ir@molten.vc
|
Deutsche
Numis
Joint Financial
Adviser and Corporate Broker
Simon Willis
Jamie Loughborough
Iqra Amin
|
+44 (0)20 7260 1000
|
Goodbody
Stockbrokers
Joint Financial
Adviser and Corporate Broker,
Euronext Dublin
Sponsor
Don Harrington
Dearbhla Gallagher
William Hall
|
+44 (0) 20 3841 6202
|
Powerscourt
Public
relations
Elly Williamson
|
+44 (0)7970 246 725
molten@powerscourt-group.com
|
About Molten
Ventures
Molten Ventures is a leading
venture capital firm in Europe, developing and investing in
disruptive, high growth technology companies. We inject visionary
companies with energy to help them to transform and grow. This
energy comes in many forms - capital, of course, but also
knowledge, experience, and relationships. We believe it is our role
to support the entrepreneurs who will invent the future, and that
future is being built, today, in Europe.
As at 31 March 2024, Molten
Ventures had a diverse portfolio with shareholdings in 118
companies, 20 of which represent our Core holdings and account for
62% of the Gross Portfolio Value. Our Core companies include
Thought Machine, Coachhub, Aiven, Ledger and Aircall. We invest
across four sectors: Enterprise Technology, Hardware and Deeptech,
Consumer Technology, and Digital Health and Wellness, with highly
experienced partners constantly looking for new opportunities in
each. We look for high-growth companies operating in new markets,
with high potential for global expansion, strong IP, powerful
technology, and strong management teams to deliver success. We also
look for businesses with the potential to generate strong margins
to ensure rapid, sustainable growth in substantial addressable
markets
A member of the London Stock
Exchange’s FTSE 250, Molten Ventures provides a unique opportunity
for public market investors to access these fast-growing tech
businesses, without having to commit to long term investments with
limited liquidity. Since our IPO in June 2016, we have deployed
over £1bn capital into fast growing tech companies and have
realised over £520m to 31 March 2024. For more information, go to
https://www.moltenventures.com/